


Happy Baby

by WrathoftheStag (Mwuahna)



Series: Namaste, My Love [2]
Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: A rom com trope, And I'm not even sorry, Does this count as a university AU?, Don't say I didn't warn you that was Agnes Shaking a Unicorn levels of fluff, For ALL THE SMUT read the first installation, Hannibal in the E.R., Hannibal is Not a Cannibal, Idiots in Love, M/M, SO MUCH FLUFF, Sexting, That's all the smut you'll get in this one., Will is adorkable, Young Cop Will, Young Doctor Hannibal, gele the cat, super domestic fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-23
Updated: 2016-07-23
Packaged: 2018-07-26 07:07:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7564828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mwuahna/pseuds/WrathoftheStag
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part two in the "Namaste, My Love" Hannigram AU series.  Will is a young police officer, Hannibal is a young resident at Johns Hopkins; the two met in a yoga class and began dating.  </p><p>We now meet up with them again as Will begins grad school at GW for forensic science, and they barely have enough time to see each other.  Will this tear them apart?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Happy Baby

**Author's Note:**

  * For [chronicopheliac](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chronicopheliac/gifts), [Devereauxs_Disease](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Devereauxs_Disease/gifts).



> Happy Baby is the name of [this pose](http://www.sensational-yoga-poses.com/happy-baby-hip-stretch.html). Will does love seeing Hannibal in various yoga poses.
> 
>  
> 
>   
> 

It had surprised Will Graham more than anyone else that he and Hannibal had fit together so well. For someone who had struggled his entire life to maintain any sort of relationship, being with Hannibal Lecter came quite easy for Will. One minute he was going to a yoga class with Beverly, the next he was having sex with the most beautiful man he had ever seen. It was fantastic. Still, they had their ups and downs like any couple. 

Will jumped out of the shower, and noticed that he was already running 15 minutes behind schedule. Hannibal tended to be extra amorous in the morning and quite frankly, Will could never say no. He pulled a towel off the rack (his favorite towel -- it was a beach towel with Mickey Mouse on it, but he loved it anyway and used it as a bath towel), wrapped it haphazardly around his waist, and ran dripping wet down the hallway to get into his clothes.

Professor Price docked points from one's overall grade for every minute one was late to class, so Will practically sprinted toward his bedroom, burst in and tripped over Hannibal who was doing his morning sun salutations, both of them landing ungracefully onto the floor, Will on top of Hannibal.

“Jesus! Hannibal -- I’m so sorry!” Will yelped as he dripped all over Hannibal, who was recovering from having the wind knocked out of him.

“William, perhaps you should literally look before you leap,” Hannibal said sternly.

“I’m just running late, and you know…”

“How Professor Price is,” Hannibal said sweetly making fun of Will.

Will planted a kiss on Hannibal’s nose and then leapt to help him up. “Come on, my wild thing. Up, up, up…”

**+++**

Will was in the middle of his first semester of his graduate studies at George Washington University; Hannibal had spent weeks convincing him to apply. He had just made the application deadline, and after getting recommendations from Police Chief Crawford, the local DA, and Hannibal himself, he was admitted into the forensic sciences program. “I’m so proud of you, Will,” Hannibal had said as he made a special celebratory dinner for Will (with all of Will’s favorites) upon his acceptance.

“Well, I wouldn’t have even applied to GW if it weren’t for you,” Will said as he happily dug into his steak au poivre.

“But you were accepted on your own merits. You are my special, brilliant, gorgeous _širdelė_ ,” Hannibal said as he poured Will more wine and leaned in to kiss him.

And so, Will Graham found himself back in school. Of course, this meant reduced hours at the station (read: decreased income), less time with Hannibal who was knee deep in his residency at Johns Hopkins (read: fast and frenzied sex, but certainly not less), and living in a near constant state of exhaustion. Were it not for Hannibal, and his amazing energy and cheerleading, Will was certain he would have just thrown in the towel weeks ago. He was so caught up daydreaming about him, he almost missed his train stop. He exited at the Foggy Bottom - GWU station and made his way to campus.

**+++**

Hannibal usually spent most nights at Will’s because it was just easier on Will. He had his (somewhat crazed) morning routine and Hannibal didn’t want to disrupt that, plus his myriad of textbooks were there. So, wherever Will’s textbooks were, Will was; and wherever Will was, Hannibal was to be found during whatever little free time they had. Still, his tiny one bedroom apartment soon began to grow cramped and Hannibal began spending more and more nights back at his own place.

Hannibal was just finishing up some stitches on the cheek of an overzealous rollerblading ten-year-old boy, when he felt his cell phone vibrate in the pocket of his lab coat.

“Very well, Jason. You are all set. You were not only brave, but also very patient,” Hannibal said as the boy’s mother grinned widely at Hannibal, and tossed her hair back.

“Thank you for taking such good care of my son, Doctor. As a _single_ mother, I have to take doubly good care of my Jason,” she said as he leaned in toward Hannibal. “But I am always so very _grateful_ for any extra help,” she added a slight pop of her hip for good measure.

Hannibal frowned slightly and said, “Nurse Hobbs will be in with some after care forms. Be well,” and he quickly walked out of the exam room as the woman’s smile fell. Hannibal was accustomed to patients blatantly hitting on him, both men and women, but he only had eyes for his Will.

Will was at home in his bedroom, jotting down notes on entomological decomposition when his vision began to blur. He had been steadily working for hours and was in desperate need of a break. Another cup of coffee was out of the question as Will was sure his entire molecular composition was mostly caffeine at this point.

“Blargh,” he said to no one in particular as he flung his ballpoint pen across the room. He sighed, and tossed his notes off to the side wondering when Hannibal would be free. It seemed like eons since they had seen each other.

He grabbed his cell phone from his nightstand and was then struck with the idea to send Hannibal a text -- or two or three...

Hannibal washed his hands and then checked his phone. He had a message from Will.

**Spalvingas** : _I was sitting here and couldn’t stop thinking of you. About that pose you did the other day._

 **My Sweets** : _Which one? I do a lot of poses._

 **Spalvingas** : _You know the one on your back. THE ONE with the legs all apart. What’s it called?_

 **My Sweets** : _Ah! Do you mean the Happy Baby pose?_

 **Spalvingas** : _Yep. That’s the one._

 **My Sweets** : _Ha! Will, I was just stretching out my hips._

 **Spalvingas** : _Well that wasn’t the only thing that was stretching out, Doctor._

 **My Sweets** : _Will. You’re being very naughty. You know I am at the hospital._

 **Spalvingas** : _What would you say if I told you I wanted you to come over…_

Hannibal looked around embarrassedly, feeling as though the entire hospital could read what Will was sending him. 

**My Sweets** : _Oh?_

 **Spalvingas** : _...so I could spend the entire day in bed fucking you?_

Hannibal smirked and then felt guilty about doing so. He was a doctor! He took the Hippocratic oath to abstain from wrongdoing and harm, not to get freaky with his boyfriend at work.

 **My Sweets** : _I would say that you are being a torturous little prat._

 **Spalvingas** : _You should be here touching me right NOW._

“Hi, Doctor Lecter,” Sheila from Radiology said, as she walked by swinging her ponytail.

Hannibal coughed and nodded as he walked past her, “Sheila.” He then made a quick beeline to the nearest bathroom. He went inside, looking at his own reflection in the mirror as he entered, and quickly took off his stethoscope, and made sure the door was locked.

 **Spalvingas** : _I just had the dirtiest thoughts about you and me. And it involved that pose._

Hannibal read the text, and swallowed. 

**My Sweets** : _A terrible prat indeed. One that needs a good spanking._

 **Spalvingas** : _AGAIN, you should be here touching me right now._

Will sat against the headboard of his bed, hand already slick with lube, languidly stroking his cock, using the phone’s voice command to send his texts.

 **My Sweets** : _Touch yourself for me, Will. As if it were me touching you._

Will moaned, as both his rhythm and pressure began to increase, his hips tightening and releasing. 

**My Sweets** : _Imagine I am sucking down that gorgeous cock, letting you fuck into my mouth._

Will had been quiet for a bit, so Hannibal smiled and dialed Will’s number. He felt it would be too weird to jack off in the hospital, but there was no reason he couldn’t help Will along in that endeavor.

“Hannibal?” Will gasped as he answered and immediately put it on speaker. Hannibal could hear the need dripping from Will’s voice and was well acquainted with that timbre. He knew Will was close. 

“Are you stroking yourself for me, my love?”

“Yes,” Will responded breathlessly.

“Good. Now imagine I am there with you right now. And I am watching you, watching you so closely. I can see your body arch beautifully as the desire builds in you ever so greatly.”

“Fuck...yes…” Will moaned.

Hannibal smiled, “And you are at your most loveliest when you are about to lose yourself, drowning in your own desire and lust...cock rock hard and weeping. Your body needing to be fucked.”

Will’s breathing hitched as he tightly curled his toes, the sensation of it all becoming almost too unbearable.

“Come for me, darling Will. I need to hear you come for me. It would make me so happy,” Hannibal said, voice gravely and thick with want. And Will did as he was told, come landing on his hand and thighs, as he called out Hannibal’s name.

“That’s my _spalvingas vaikinas_...that’s it,” Hannibal said softly.

“God...that...sheesh. Thanks for that, love,” Will said as he lay back in his bed, eyes closed.

“It was my pleasure,” Hannibal purred. “Now, I must get back to work but this lovely diversion has certainly given me some much needed pep in my step.”

Will chuckled. “Call me when you’re home,” he said as sat up to reach for some tissues.

“I will. Goodbye,” Hannibal said and put his phone in his pocket. He then turned on the sink to splash some cold water on his face. It was time to get back into his medical headspace, but he sent Will one more message before he exited the bathroom.

 **My Sweets** : _I promise when I see you, I’ll make you come again and again._

 **Spalvingas** : _I’m looking forward to it._

 **My Sweets** : _I miss you, Will._

 **Spalvingas** : _I miss you too, Hannibal._

**+++**

And so it was that Will and Hannibal tried their best to spend time together, with mixed results. Hannibal had stopped working at Serenity Now, only filling in occasionally now and then as a last minute substitute. With Will in school, his duties at the station had pretty much been relegated to that of a pencil pusher, poring over reports, answering calls, working in-take -- and that was fine with him.

One rare evening when Will was actually free (no station, no homework, no anything) he called Hannibal with a plan.

“He’ll need two grams of chloramphenicol. Yes, as written. Thank you.” Hannibal felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and then turned into a quiet doorway of the hospital to answer, “Yes?”

“Hi, it’s me.”

“Well, good evening, Me.” 

Will grinned and said, “I actually have the rest of the night off.”

“Do you now?”

“Uh-huh. What time do you think you’ll be done?” Will asked.

Hannibal smiled, looked at the triage board, then at his watch and said, “Perhaps an hour?”

“Great! Why don’t I come over to your place, make us some dinner and by the time you come home it’ll be ready.”

Hannibal’s smile grew even wider, “That sounds like perfection. I’ll call you when I’m on my way.”

“Great. I can’t wait to see you, and actually have a meal together,” Will said.

“I feel the same way. Will you please check Gėlė’s food when you get there?”

“Will do. Love you.”

“I love you, too. Goodbye,” Hannibal smiled into the phone. He put it back in the pocket of his lab coat, momentarily lost in a cloud of Will when a gurney burst into the ER as the paramedic called out that a gunshot wound victim had just arrived. Hannibal immediately jumped to action.

**+++**

The “I love yous” came easily to Will and Hannibal, as if it was simply a lovely inevitability that they both readily accepted. Hannibal liked to joke that they were most likely lovers in a previous life, probably riding together fighting against the Saxons centuries ago. Will would add that in some crazy alternate universe they were most likely each other’s nemesis who then fell in love after a long game of cat and mouse.

The first time they had said I love you, it was about three weeks into their relationship…

Hannibal and Will were in bed one morning, and Hannibal began planting kisses along Will’s inner thigh. Will pressed his head back into his pillow, and grabbed at the sheets moaning softly. When Hannibal reached Will’s cock, his lips ghosted over it causing Will to shiver in delight. Hannibal continued to move upward and kissed Will’s tummy.

“You are a literal cock tease,” Will said. “Do you know that?”

Hannibal laughed as he crawled up to be parallel to Will. He propped his head on his elbow and coquettishly said, “I have no idea what you are referring to Officer Graham.”

Anytime Hannibal called Will “Officer Graham” it immediately made his cock begin to stand at attention, and Hannibal knew to this be fact. His smile grew wider as he dipped down and whispered in Will’s ear, “Do you know what I need? What I desire most at this very moment?”

Will closed his eyes and smiled, “What?”

Hannibal licked into Will’s ear and said, “Coffee. And you, _Officer Graham_ , are out of coffee.”

Will opened his eyes and laughed, “Boo! Cock tease.”

Hannibal sat up in bed and shrugged, “It is no fault of mine if your apartment is missing basic human necessities.” 

Will shook his head, sat up and swung his legs over to the side of the bed to get up. He grabbed his boxers off the chair next to the bed and said, “Fine, Doctor. I will go to the coffee shop down the street and get you some coffee but only because I love you.”

Will immediately froze, realizing what he had just revealed, boxer shorts still in hand.

“You...love me?” Hannibal asked, his hair falling softly over his eyes.

Will looked at Hannibal, blushing furiously, and said, “It’s...too soon? Right? I’m sorry. Please don’t get weirded out -- I just…”

Hannibal sat up, and excitedly said, “I love you, too!”

“Really?” Will replied as he jumped back onto the bed and grabbed Hannibal’s hands, pressing them to his chest.

“Yes, really! And is it too soon if we _both_ feel it?” Hannibal asked.

Will shook his head, “Noooo. I don’t think so!”

Hannibal laughed. “I love you, Officer Graham.”

“And I love you, Doctor Lecter.” 

**+++**

Will patiently waited for Hannibal to call that he was on his way, and sat on the couch petting Gėlė. It was 8:12 p.m., and it had been around 6:00 when he last spoke to Hannibal. The lasagna was ready to be popped into the oven the moment Hannibal called to say he was heading home.

Maybe a small tumbler of whiskey, while he waited? As he was pouring, the phone rang and Will ran to pick it up, “You on your way?”

“No, but I can be!” It was Beverly.

“Oh...it’s just you. Hey, Bev.”

“Way to make a gal feel special, Graham,” Beverly groused.

“Sorry. You’re right. I thought you were Hannibal. I’m waiting for him to call so I can finish dinner.”

“Wow, how very 1950s housewife of you. Are you also wearing pearls and an apron?”

“Very funny, Bev.” 

“How is Doctor Feelgood, by the way? You two still in a lover’s paradise?”

“Pshh! Well, we are when we actually see each other. It’s hard with our schedules being so jacked up now.”

“I know! You barely see me and you _adore_ me,” Bev said. “If it weren’t for my occasional donut delivery to your desk, I’d never see you. You’re that short ginger with the buckteeth and bad breath, right? I can’t quite recall.”

Will laughed, “Uh, no. That’s your boyfriend you’re describing.”

“Well, I never! Not all of us can have a supermodel international doctor boyfriend, Will.”

“This is true,” Will said with a shrug.

“Stinker. So, can’t you two go away for a few days -- or is that totally out of the question?”

“I’m sitting here, with a pan of lasagna hoping he’ll show up soon before I conk out and fall asleep. An hour of awake time together is about all I can hope for lately,” Will said with a sigh. 

“Ugh. That gives me the sads, Graham. If you two beautiful people have a hard time getting together, how can I even imagine finding my Mr. Okay and maintaining a relationship?”

“Mr. Okay?”

“I set my bar low. Fewer disappointments, greater surprises that way,” Bev said with a sigh.

“That gives _me_ the sads, Bev.”

“Whaddaya gonna do? Do you want me to come over while you wait? I promise I’ll skedaddle with a doggie bag full of lasagna, the second Hannibal walks in.”

“Nah, that’s okay. I’m sure he’ll be calling any minute now.”

“Okay, Graham. Well, I just wanted to check in and say hi. So, hi and bye,” Beverly said with a chuckle.

“Bye. Talk to you soon.”

For someone who avoided friends most of his life and fled from relationships, Will found himself missing a lot of people as of late. An odd feeling to be sure.

**+++**

By 9:45, Will had passed out on the couch, Gėlė contentedly dozing on his chest. When Hannibal finally arrived after midnight, he walked in quietly and noticed the pan of unbaked lasagna on the counter, the half-empty bottle of whiskey, and his adorable boyfriend and cat fast asleep on the couch.

He felt terrible that he had stood up Will in this manner. Still, saving that gunshot wound victim, taking them into the OR, clamping down their arteries, salvaging their spleen, seeing them alive and recovering in post-op was so incredibly thrilling. It shamed Hannibal to feel this sense of godlike power, but was it not godlike to bring people back from the brink of death? Was he not here, in this world, blessed with the talent and skill to do the work his nature had intended? 

Hannibal dropped his bag onto the floor, placed his jacket on the Eames Hang-It-All and walked over to the couch. Gėlė stirred sensing movement from her beloved master, and she woke to mew at him. Hannibal smiled and leaned down to stroke Will’s knee. Will slowly opened his eyes, and stretched, looking at Hannibal with a sleepy expression.

“What happened to you?” He asked with a soft smile, “Where were you?” 

“I’m sorry, Will. There was a gunshot wound that came in, right after we hung up.”

Will sat up, as Gėlė jumped off his lap. “Ugh, those are always bad. So much blood and panic...are you okay?”

“Yes. He survived.” 

“Thanks to you?”

“I suppose so.”

“Whenever I’d have to deal with a gunshot victim and they were alive, I’d try to keep them calm no matter what the situation was or how they got there. I’d talk to them, make them feel safe -- I could always feel their despair so deeply -- until the ambulance would arrive and take them away. And I’d think, ‘I hope whoever gets them next, knows what they are doing.’ I guess it’s good that it is you.”

Hannibal smiled and sat on the couch next to Will, curling into him, stroking his hair.

“I’m sorry about dinner. I saw your dish sitting on the counter. It looked delicious,” Hannibal said suppressing a yawn. 

“I made it with that sausage you like, and three kinds of cheeses. I should put in the fridge,” Will replied sleepily.

Hannibal put his head on Will’s shoulder, “Three cheeses? Divine decadence.”

“Mmm-hmm…”

Within a few minutes, both were sound asleep as Gėlė sat on the counter guarding the lasagna most of the night.

**+++**

Will sat in his Forensic Psychiatry class as Dr. du Maurier lectured strolling back and forth across the front of the lecture hall, “To excel in forensic psychiatry, one must understand the constructs of dynamic psychiatry, psychiatric treatment, as well as the nomenclature of mental disorders. All of that is important but equally important is what else? Class?”

Will raised his hand to answer and Brian Zeller, who for all intents and purposes was Will’s strongest competition for the highest grade in class, immediately piped in and added, “You should also give equal consideration to expert testimony, direct examination, and cross-examination in hospitalization and criminal cases.”

“Yes, very good.”

Will rolled his eyes. 

“Boom,” Zeller whispered, “You snooze you lose, Graham. And obviously, you snozed and lost.”

“That’s not even a real word, Zeller,” Will whispered back. 

“I can’t help it if I’m quicker and smarter, and teacher’s pet,” Zeller said leaning back into his chair, crossing his arms.

“Knock it off, we all know du Maurier’s pet is Chilton,” Will said with a wry smile. They both turned to look at Frederick Chilton who was two rows ahead of them, ready to jump out of his seat.

“That is all for today,” Dr. du Maurier said as she walked to gathered her notes. Frederick was already quickly approaching the lectern, “Dr. du Maurier, might I have a word?”

“Jesus,” Zeller said shaking his head. “They could at least be more discreet about it. That rich little shit.”

Will smiled and gathered his bag.

“Hey, a bunch of us are going to Filter to compare notes from Analytical Toxicology. Wanna come?” Brian asked.

“Why are you being nice, Zeller?” Will asked with eyebrow raised.

“All right, all right. Fine. You’re a good buffer for Clarice and me. She likes talking to you, and then I can buy her some coffee and ease my way into the conversation,” Zeller said as they began to walk out. “Miriam and Ardelia are coming, too.”

“Sorry, I’ve got plans. You’ll just have to outright obnoxiously hit on her,” Will said with a smile.

“Dude, you can’t stop sucking face with your doctor boyfriend long enough to do me a solid? Cold.” Zeller said while they walked down the long hallway.

“Trust me, I’d rather spend time with his mug than yours,” Will said as he jogged toward the door. 

Hannibal had agreed to show some medical students around the hospital and was just about finishing up, when he felt his phone vibrate. 

“I’ll leave you all with Abigail Hobbs, she’s the head R.N. on this floor. You’re all in good hands.” He gave them all a quick bow and then turned to find a quiet spot to look at his phone. It was a message from Will which simply read: _All done. On my way._ Hannibal responded: _I’ll wait for you at my place._

The two had made plans over a week ago, to secure time in this one window where neither was over scheduled, over booked or over anything. All they wanted was to be all over each other. 

Will looked at his message and smiled, and as he was walking down the quad he passed Professors Price and Fuller who were chatting very animatedly.

Will nodded at them, “Professors” and then picked up his pace.

“Oh, Will,” Professor Price said, “We were just talking about you. Professor Fuller and I read your paper on determining the time of death by insect activity. Very interesting, very interesting.”

“Oh, thank you. That’s so good to hear,” Will said.

“We think that you could definitely go further with it,” Professor Fuller added. “We actually had a few questions and comments, do you have a moment?”

Will paused unsure what to do next. Most people on campus would kill to have the attention of both Price and Fuller, he couldn’t just excuse himself now.

“Graham?” Fuller said.

“Oh...yes. I’m sorry -- of course.”

The three of them walked back into the building toward Professor Price’s office.

**+++**

Hannibal sat looking at his clock, and walking to his window every so often to look out into the street. Will should have arrived by then, but there was still no sign of him. Hannibal checked his phone; there was no text message or missed call.

He opened the fridge and stared at the fruit and cheese platter he had put together. The cheese was starting to sweat so he had no choice but to put it back in the fridge. He did, however, have no problem opening the bottle of pinot grigio he had chilling in there.

He poured himself a glass and dialed Will’s number. It went straight to voicemail. Was he hurt? Had he been hit by a car? Hannibal knew bad news traveled quickly, so it couldn’t be that. The question was then, where was Will Graham?

Two hours later, Will walked out of Professor Price’s office on cloud nine. His work had not only been validated, but he was enthusiastically encouraged to continue on that path. He walked outside and spun around, internally giving a triumphant “Whee!” And then he remembered, _Oh, shit. Hannibal!_

He dialed Hannibal’s number as he ran toward the train station, and it instantly went into voicemail.

Hannibal had tired of waiting, and rather than sit and eat his weight in cheese, he decided to go to the café down the street for a sandwich and hoped Will had a good explanation for his sudden disappearance.

He was seated at a table near the front window of Lalu Café. “I’ll have the ham and raclette panino, with a side order of beets. Oh, and a glass of sparkling water. Thank you.”

Just as his drink arrived, Freddie Lounds walked outside the restaurant. They both met each other's eyes and smiled when the recognition hit. Freddie worked on occasion at Serenity Now, and Hannibal had always been fond of her. She had a brashness and wit he appreciated. She waved and he waved back, then motioned for her to come in.

“Hey, Hanners.”

“Freddie. It’s good to see you.”

“I was just on my way home, looked over in this direction and thought, who is that cutie in the window? It was my own reflection!”

Hannibal laughed. “I just ordered my food. Do you want to join me?”

Freddie considered it for a moment. “Sure, I could eat.” She sat down and they both immediately started chatting.

**+++**

Will burst into the apartment, out of breath. “Hannibal? Sorry, I’m late --” and then realized he was talking to himself. Gėlė appeared from the bathroom. 

“Shit. Where did he go, Gėlė?”

She stood looking unimpressed and swished her tail slowly, then turned and walked away.

“Thanks for the help, cat.”

Will dropped his bag, and looked around wondering if perhaps Hannibal had left a note. There was none to be found, so he plunked himself on the couch and that is when he saw that Hannibal had indeed left a note. It was on one of the pillows, written in Hannibal’s elegant script because of course he’d be the only doctor in the history of time with beautiful, legible handwriting.

_I am getting a late lunch. There is cheese. You may eat it._

Will frowned. Although there was nothing inherently mean in the note, he felt as though Hannibal had just told him off. He called Hannibal once more and it went straight into voicemail. Then it occurred to Will that perhaps Hannibal went to Lalu for lunch. That was one of his favorite places.

**+++**

“So are you still seeing that cute cop?” Freddie asked.

Hannibal smiled in spite of himself, “Will? Yes. Unfortunately, we are both worn a bit thin at the moment, so we don’t see as much as we -- as _I_ would like. What about you? Are you seeing anyone?”

“I’m too busy working on my writing. But I did go on a blind date the other day and it was fucking awful,” Freddie laughed.

“In what way? Was he ungentlemanly? Rude? Slovenly?”

“You know me, I can handle rude,” she took a sip of her lemonade and laughed “No. This guy, Francis, was so over the top. We just met, we're about 45 minutes into the date and he was already proclaiming his creepy undying love.”

“No!" Hannibal said incredulously with a wide smile.

“I swear to god, he even grabbed my hand very melodramatically, like this…” Freddie leaned over and took Hannibal’s hand pressing it to her face as she continued, “...as he declared his eternal devotion.” Hannibal laughed.

At that same time, Will was standing outside the restaurant witnessing some woman holding Hannibal’s hand to her face, and Hannibal clearly enjoying it -- throwing his head back in laughter. What the fucking what? Before his brain realized what his body was doing, he had his hands and forehead pressed up against the window, eyes wide.

Freddie and Hannibal turned and looked at Will. Will realized what he was doing, and ran off before Hannibal could walk outside to speak with him.

**+++**

Hannibal walked into his apartment, knowing he’d find Will there. Gėlė sat next to Will on the floor, near the couch, enjoying the sun shining through the large windows.

“Will, what just happened?” Hannibal asked without reproach, just honest curiosity.

Will shrugged. “I’m sorry I was late. A couple of the professors stopped me just as I leaving to talk about my work, and I was afraid to say no. I ended up having a long meeting with them.”

Hannibal sat down next to Will on the floor, and said excitedly, “Your insect decomposition work?”

Will nodded. 

“Will, that’s wonderful. I know how hard you’ve been working on that.”

“So I came and saw your note, and I went to look for you. Then I saw you holding hands with some chick…I didn’t know what to think.”

“Will, she was a friend retelling me a humorous anecdote about a terrible date she recently had. That’s all.”

Will looked at Hannibal and blushed, “I mean, I spend more time with Gėlė than with you --”

Hannibal sighed. He had had enough, and was going to resolve this immediately.

“Will, there’s something we need to talk about, and I don’t want to put it off any longer.” He got up and sat on the couch, and motioned for Will to come and sit next to him.

Will felt a queasy heaviness deep in his stomach, “Uh...maybe it can wait?” He asked hopefully, not taking a seat.

“No, this needs to be out in the open now. Sit, Will.”

 _Oh, lord_. Will thought, _This is it._ “Okay. What is it?”

“Lately, we haven’t been as close as I would like us to be. You know this, and I know this. You have been busy with school -- which I fully support -- you know that, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” Will said sadly, “You’ve been great. Very supportive…”

“And my residency is taking up almost all of my time,” Hannibal continued.

Will nodded once again.

“We hardly see each other, and it is no one’s fault really. And when we are together, we are rushed or quick to fall asleep. Most of our dates are spent in R.E.M. sleep, Will.”

Will furrowed his brow and sighed, “I know what this is...really, you don’t have to keep going.”

Hannibal ignored Will and continued, “And it has to stop Will, we cannot go on in this manner.”

“Jesus, you _are_ breaking up with me. I knew it! I knew it was too good to be true,” Will cried out.

Hannibal raised both eyebrows in surprise as Will continued, “You’re well adjusted, you’re handsome, you’re a goddamn brilliant overachiever, you’re kind, you always smell _so_ good. You’re basically perfect. Why would you want to be with me?”

“Will…”

“I should have seen this coming. But nooooo. You say, ‘I love you,’ and I’m all like, ‘I love you, too,’ and what good does love do? Huh?”

“Will!” Hannibal said pinching the bridge above his nose, somewhat exasperated.

Will stopped and looked at Hannibal, as Hannibal in turn looked at him and said, “Will...I love you and I want us to spend as much time together as we can, whenever we have precious free time.”

“What?” Will asked looking confused -- which was, quite frankly, becoming the norm.

“I very much want us to move in together.”

“You want us...to move in together?”

“Yes, very much,” Hannibal reiterated. 

“Why?”

Hannibal laughed, “For someone so incredibly bright you can be so incredibly obtuse at times, my love.”

Will shrugged sheepishly.

“Will, I want your face to be the first one I see each morning when I wake and the last one before I sleep, even if I am crawling into our bed at 3:00 in the morning and you are already fast asleep.”

Will smiled and remained silent.

“I want to see you studying, and be with you when I can to cheer you on. I want us to have as many meals together as we can, shop for groceries, and do our laundry together. All of those mundane domestic things -- I want them all with you. And it’ll be easier if we are living in the same household, don’t you agree? Simply put, I want you. All of the time.”

Will had the biggest grin on his face and replied, “I guess that sounds nice.”

“Nice?” Hannibal threw a pillow at Will and laughed. “Come here, _spalvingas_.”

Will snuggled into Hannibal and beamed, “So, yeah. I’ll move in with you. Since you sound so desperate and everything.”

Hannibal laughed, “Indeed. But, I do have one condition. You must move here. You’ll have to say goodbye to your apartment.”

Will looked around at Hannibal’s enormous, pristine place and replied, “Gee, give up my one bedroom cramped palatial estate for _this_ dump? It’ll be a sacrifice, but I guess so.”

Hannibal smirked and then leaned in to kiss Will. Will pulled back a few moments before the kiss landed, “Oh!”

“Yes?”

“Can we get a dog?”

“A dog? William, we barely have time to care for poor Gėlė.”

“We can name it Happy Baby.”

“No, and that is a terrible name. Truly.”

“Please?”

“No.”

“Happy Baby?”

“We’ll see…"

**Author's Note:**

> Širdelė = Sweetheart
> 
> Spalvingas = Gorgeous, because of course Hanners would have Will listed on his phone as “Gorgeous.” (Silent shout out to Nigel!)
> 
> Spalvingas vaikinas = Gorgeous boyfriend
> 
> The [Sun Salutation](http://cargocollective.com/maggiemiller/Sun-Salutation) sequence.
> 
> Come say hi and visit me [on Tumblr](http://wrathofthestag.tumblr.com/).


End file.
